Coffee Is A Wonderful Thing
by InuKag01234
Summary: Kagome's well and truly lost. In a country where no one speaks her language. But she's stumbled into a coffee shop, where help may be just a coffee away. InuKag
1. Chapter 1

Kagome pressed her forehead on the cool countertop, willing her headache to go down.

She'd been wandering the streets, hopelessly lost, and with her phone flat, she was well and truely sunk.

_I'll just go for a quick stroll around the block._ Kagome thought sarcastically, mimicking herself from around an hour and a half beforehand. _It'll be fun, I said. I'll get the lay of the land, I said._ She sighed. _What a dumb idea. I have absolutely no idea where I am, or how to get back to the shrine._

'You okay, miss?' Came a halting voice from nearby, and her head shot up so fast she almost accidently tipped herself backwards.

'Waitasec, you speak english?' Kagome shot at the source of the voice before she had consciously located it, which turned out to be the barista of the coffee place she had just wandered into at random, her last five hundred yen on her person clutched like a treasure in her hands.

He shrugged slightly, in that universal _kinda-sorta-maybe_ sort of way, before the server next to him seized his attention momentairily by waving a fistful of order tickets under his nose.

The barista waved his friend off by seizing said tickets, scanning them, and pushing them all on the completed spike, before unlocking and pulling free both coffee portafilters and switching on the grinder.

She couldn't help but shut up at the smoothness of the way he pulled those shots, made the largest, frothiest milk in the biggest milk jug Kagome had ever seen, and _made those coffees_.

And he wasn't bad on the eyes either, Kagome admitted. He had long, white hair that was pulled back as loosely as possible, as if he hated the idea of having it up at all, but store policy is store policy. Even his friend at the till had his tied back at the nape of his neck.

A plate clattered somewhere in the store and the barista's ears pricked; small, canine-esque ears that perched atop his head that Kagome didn't want to stop staring at at all.

As well as, Kagome had just discovered he spoke a tiny amount of english.

Now, despite the fact that Kagome was technically Japanese, she had been living abroad with her brother, and was now home to live with her mother at the family shrine, to "get back to her roots" as her father had called it.

But the minor flaw in the plan, brilliant as it was, was that her father had conveniantly forgotten to teach her and her brother Japanese, and Kagome had decided to check out the scenery around the shrine.

'What is, the,' the barista was frowning as he poured the last of his order with little to no effort. 'Matter?' The way he tilted his head slightly as if to test out the word Kagome was immidiately reminded of a confused puppy.

She pressed her fingertips to her collarbones. 'I'm lost.' She said as clearly as she could. 'I don't know where I am. Can you help me?'

He turned and looked at her with golden eyes that banished the puppy image from her mind. 'Lost.' He repeated. '_Lost._' He muttered something else to himself, pulling a pained face and drumming his fingers on the countertop, before grabbing a cloth and swiping up some spilled cocoa.

This was clearly more than a little language barrier, but Kagome was not about to give up. 'Do you know where Higurashi Shrine is? _Hi-gu-ra-shi_ shrine.' She repeated.

'_Higurashiji?'_ He looked at her questioningly, sticking his thumb back out towards the front door.

'Uh, yeah,' Kagome nodded encouragingly. '_Higurashiji_.'

He conjured another three coffees from the machine seemingly without thinking about it before he started speaking again.

'You go down to finish of street.' He pointed. 'Erm, _until_, see big-no, _tall_,' he made out the shape of something with his skilled hands, something that did not help Kagome with her directions, until he gave up, shaking his head in frustration. '_Matte._' He said impatiantly, before sneaking a glance at his coworker. 'You like coffee?' He asked.

'Well, sure.' Kagome shrugged, before nodding. 'Uh, hai?'

And before she had blinked twice, a steaming latte was placed before her, and before she could blink once more he had turned his back to her, an obvious shut down on any form of payment (not that she had any money on her anyway), and started talking to his coworker.

His coworker looked back over to her for a moment, before the corners of his mouth pulled down with a half shrug as the _not-bad_ gesture that was seemingly universal, before raising his eyebrows skeptically to the barista.

The barista elbowed him in the ribs in a half-playful, half-_I'm-seriously-going-to-kill-you-in-a-second-but-this-is-a-work-setting-and-I-want-to-keep-my-job_ sort of way.

Kagome took a sip of the latte before her, but when she lowered the glass again it was only half-full and she was once again marvelling at his skills. It was, unsurprisingly, a _seriously_ good coffee.

'You come,' The barista said, ducking around the counter to stand next to her, and rubbing his hands on his apron as he did so. 'I show you way.'

Behind him, his coworker had moved in front of the coffee machine, but was quite distracted by the girl with the long ponytail who had appeared from out back to work the till.

'Okay.' Kagome said, attempting to finish the rest of her coffee in a dignified way. 'I'm Kagome, by the way.'

'Your name, Kagome?' He said as they headed for the door. 'Jya, ne!' He called over his shoulder, and his coworker who was now stuck at the coffee machine shook a halfhearted fist in his direction as they left.

'That's right,' Kagome replied. 'I'm new in town.'

'Orenonamae, InuYasha.' He grinned at her nervously, the outside sun streaming around them.

'Uh, InuYasha?' Kagome tested out.

'Hn.' He nodded, before looking around to orientate himself, then tugging on her sleeve to pull her in the right direction. 'Higurashiji, kocchi. Uh, this way.' He grinned at her.

She grinned back. '_Finally._ The right direction.'

Her words were lost on him, but he picked up on the relief that they were spoken with. She could almost see the slight swelling of his chest as he took on the importance of his task.

'What about your coworkers?' She nodded back to the coffee shop as the started walking. 'Um, your friends?'

InuYasha shrugged. 'They fine.' He muttered something else like him that had all the tone and own-private-joke feel to it of _if they could survive without me_. He turned his attention back to her. 'You, your face,' he struggled, 'you, look like, us nihonjin. You know no nihongo?'

'Sorry?' Kagome looked at him confusedly.

'Uhm, er,' he pulled a pained face. 'Language? Eigo, english?'

'Oh, you want to know why I don't speak Japanese?' Kagome realized. 'Well, um, I was raised overseas, and just came here.'

He was still looking at her expectantly, but clearly everything she had said had slid straight over his head. Which had tilted so he looked like a confused puppy.

'Um, I came, to Japan. Yesterday.'

'You come to Japan? Yesterday?' He confirmed. 'Why?'

'Oh, well, to learn.'

'Learn what?' He questioned as he guilded around a corner down the street, around a statue of some description that shed a little light onto his gesturing earlier.

'Japanese, Higurashi Shrine, and everything.'

'Souka.' He said, without any sort of translation or connecting sentence.

They walked along in quiet for a minute, before she spoke up again. 'So you live here in Tokyo?'

'Yes. Close by.' He replied. 'But other way. Almost at Higurashiji.'

'Ah, right.' Kagome flushed slightly as some old women walking the other way tittered at them, sharing a universally recognized knowing smile.

She glanced a peek sideways, to see he was flushing too.

'You are in Tokyo with friends? Or boy?' He looked back towards her, shoving his hands in his pockets almost too casually, obviously thinking he was being subtle.

'Yes, actually.' Kagome teased, watching as he almost lost his footing and fell into the gutter. 'My brother. My family.'

He stuck his jaw out at her for a moment before he composed himself, shrugging his shoulders far too casually. 'How old brother?' He attempted to smooth.

'Ten.' Kagome held up both hands and waved her fingers at him.

'He very young.' He glanced her up and down for a moment, before realising what he was doing. 'Mitte, _look_,' he corrected himself, before gesturing in the suddenly very familiar direction of a set of stone steps and a shrine gate the next block up, on the other side of the road. 'Is that it?'

'Yes!' Kagome exclaimed, seizing his sleeve and making to drag InuYasha across the road without even a second thought, before he seized her hand with both of his and stuck his heels in, so that she was pulled up short, just as a car whizzed right in front of where she was standing.

'Crazy girl Kagome.' InuYasha shook his head as Kagome stared at the place she would have been had he not stopped her. 'You want you killed? Cars very dangerous.'

'Oh, sorry.' Kagome, more carefully this time, crossed the road, being significantly more mindful of traffic this second time around.

Of course, she was still also very mindful of the fact that InuYasha had forgotten to drop her hand, and she wasn't precisely about to remind him.

'You live, at shrine?' He questioned as they landed safely on the opposing footpath.

'Yes, my family is Japanese.' She smiled back at him.

He blinked stupidly a few times, before suddenly realizing what he was still loosely grasping, and released it like he was dropping a spider, flushing beet red. 'Gomen! Sorry!'

Kagome found herself going red as well, and bounded up a few of the shrine. 'Well, thanks for helping me!'

'Not problem!' He replied, scratching at the back of his neck nervously, before turning back up the street as Kagome hopped up a few more steps, before pausing, hoping her nerve would hold.

'Wait, InuYasha?' She said, turning back to face him, and he started from the few steps he had taken almost back to his original position.

She raced back down those steps until she stood upon the last one, seized him by one of his apron ties and pecked his cheek as fast as she could.

'Um, jya ne, InuYasha?' She smiled nervously, already wishing she could take it back.

But it looked more like she'd hit him over the head with the shrine gate, and he looked back at her dazedly, raising his fingertips to his cheek, before smiling stupidly. 'Jya ne, Kagome.'

She couldn't stop smiling all the way back to the shrine.


	2. A-Frames Really Do Suck

*****EDIT**************

**THIS IS NOT THE SAME CHAPTER AS BEFORE**

**I EXTENDED IT A LOT SO PLEASE READ**

**AND ALSO READ THE NOTE AT THE END**

**THANK YOU**

**AND SORRY FOR SHOUTING**

* * *

It can't be.

I mean, that's just dumb.

Kagome's staring up at that coffee shop again.

Only this time she's surrounded by her friends on their way back from a day out, retreating back to Kagome's (and also to check out the house of the girl who lives at a shrine, but who's counting).

'Come on, Kagome,' one of them says. 'What are you doing standing like a fool?'

It should be noted that all of her new friends are at varying degrees of bilingual, she made them through her course in Japanese that her father had (very apologetically, might I add) enrolled her in.

But these girls had started with Japanese, and one of them, Ayumi, was just doing the Japanese class en english for the kicks.

It's been about a week and a half since she got to Japan, and she hasn't really had the guts to go back in here.

Well, not that she's disinterested in the best damn coffee in Japan that she's discovered so far (and all of the ones from back home combined), but it's the barista that's got her fixed.

_And how exactly am I going to face him if he's there?_ Kagome was flummuxed by the very thought.

But here she was, standing outside _BeansTalk_ once more, and there was no way she was getting out of it.

'Don't you like coffee or something?' Yuka questioned, pulling open the door for Kagome to walk through.

Truth be told, this particular place has wreaked havoc with her standards, and now it seems like her tastebuds aren't going to accept any less.

But _still_...

'Sure I do,' Kagome said hesitantly, her feet remaining planted on the sidewalk outside.

'Well what's the problem?'

'Uh, nothing.' She forced her feet forward, attempting to hold herself casually, but she knew she was failing dismally.

Her face flaming, she refused to look at the counter until the very last second.

Where there were two people behind the counter.

A girl and a guy.

And both had dark hair.

'So Kagome, what do you want to order?' Ayumi looked between the girl and the short menu hung above the counter, while Kagome quietly and mentally collected the scattered remnants of her sanity, put them all into a little box, taped it shut and made a promise to herself to ignore how worked up she had gotten over walking through a door.

And maybe to never mention that little box to anyone, _ever_.

'Hey Kagome, are you in there?' Ayumi was waving a hand in front of her face.

'What?' Kagome snapped out of her moment. 'I'm here. Um, er, _co-hee, onegaishimasu.'_ She said stiffly to the guy behind the register, who automatically put it through the till, before glancing up at her.

A flash of recognition raced between his eyes and he gave her a knowing look, giving her a price.

She pushed a five-hundred yen coin into the little metal bowl, and he exchanged it for the change, watching her with a grin as she slowly felt herself flush deeper and deeper red.

The other three ordered their own drinks as easily as anyone would in their own native tongue and also having no idea how embarrassed Kagome was right at that exact point.

The guy had a brief chat with Yuka, running his fingers through his hair in a suave sort of fashion, but Kagome saw out of the corner of her eye as they turned to find a table the girl behind the coffee machine dig an elbow firmly into the guy's ribs as she snatched up the tickets of their order, and the accompanying pained expression of the cashier.

'That guy was a bit weird,' Yuka said, in english, for Kagome's benefit, which she was always greatful for.

'Why?' Eri asked, pulling out a chair at a spare table by the window. 'He didn't seem that bad. And he's pretty, uncomplicated on the eyes.' She paused, and looked at Kagome. 'Is that the right word?'

Kagome shook her head breifly. '_Easy_. It's a lexis phrase. _Easy on the eyes._'

'Right, well, you get what I mean.'

'He said we we definitely order in then we'll get a laugh in the next five minutes.' Yuka glanced back at him, to see the guy shooting glances with his coworker towards the door with anticipation positively _oozing_. 'I have no idea what's going on. Maybe there's a prank or show or something planned?'

Kagome shrugged. 'Not a clue.' She glanced around uneasily, before changing the subject. 'I'm surprised there are so many people in our class, this isn't really a part of Tokyo that's foreigner-heavy.'

'Yeah, but a lot of people are just looking at the courses as a way to fill up their university degree quotas.' Ayumi said.

'No wonder.' Yuka sighed. 'That Hojou guy seemed to really have eyes for you though, Kagome. Jeez, I wish you'd send some of that attention my way.'

'What, Hojo?' Kagome questioned. 'He's just being nice. And that was one time, letting me copy his translated notes. This course is hard for people who are just starting out, you know.'

'Maybe you should consider a tutor?' Ayumi said thoughtfully.

'I bet Hojou would volunteer.' Yuka teased. 'He wouldn't have a problem with some one-on-one time with you at all.'

'Yuka!' Kagome exclaimed. 'He was just trying to be nice.'

'Sorry,' Yuka shrugged. 'He does really seem to like you, is all.'

'Well it's not like that at all.' Kagome said firmly.

'Well, are you not interested?' Eri questioned. 'Hojou does seem to be a nice person.'

'-' Kagome opened her mouth to correct the girl on her question, but nothing seemed to come out.

Her thought process had derailed entirely, and was suddenly contimplating shoving the entire coffee machine behind them up the nose of the cashier.

Because she'd suddenly caught sight of just who was sauntering past the window.

He must've felt eyes on him because he looked up at that moment as well.

The first thing Kagome noticed was that InuYasha was looking dead on his feet.

He had dark circles under his eyes, and seemed to be gripping the paper cup he was holding like it was a lifeline. Considering the caffine, it probably was.

The next thing Kagome noticed was that she was staring at him, and she couldn't quite seem to stop, no matter how hard she wrenched at her gaze.

And the final thing she noticed was the A-frame sign in front of him, loudly reading the store's name.

She snapped to it fast enough to wave at him frantically, but all he had time to do was give her a thoroughly confused look before he went down in a pile of demon, sign and spilled coffee.

Kagome was on her feet before she'd even processed it.

She looked around at his fellow staff for assistance, but found them to be no help whatsoever as they themselves had to hold onto the counter with tears standing out on their faces in order to not fall over laughing.

'Damn it,' she muttered, manoevering around her chair and out of the front door, where InuYasha was attempting to pick himself up.

'Hey, are you okay?' She questioned, offering her hand to him as he sat up, dusting himself off.

He looked sharply at her, before flushing beet red and hauling himself to his feet on his own accord. 'Nn, I okay.' He said, brushing the excess coffee off of his apron. 'Is coffee.'

'Right. I guess you're used to it.' Kagome retracted her hand awkwardly. 'Uh, you working today?'

'No, I work afternoon.' He said, pausing in straightening the sigh to check his watch, then struggling to find words. 'Start early today.' He pulled a pained face as he struggled to remember something. 'Er, naptime?' He said questioningly, straightening to look at her, the sign now back in its original position, only slightly damp from coffee.

'You were asleep?' Kagome looked at his exhausted demeanor again, and questioning his vocabulary skills again.

He processed for a moment, before shaking his head strongly, his jaw sticking out stubbornly. 'No sleep. Rest?'

'Do you mean you're on break?' Kagome questioned, catching on.

He thought about that for a moment too, before nodding. 'Yes, break.' He muttered something else to himself, but Kagome neither caught or understood. He looked at her again, scratching at the back of his neck nervously. 'You here because coffee?'

'Yeah.' Kagome glanced back inside, to see all of her friends lined up on the windowsill, leaning on their elbows, their chins in their hands, with knowing smiles on their faces.

'Oh no.' Kagome said audibly.

'What-' InuYasha followed her gaze and saw that at the end of the row of girls was his coworker. He was filming. 'Oh _no_,'

'I'm never going to hear the end of this,' Kagome groaned. Yuka was fluttering her fingers at her.

InuYasha however seemed to opt for what was obviously a string of expletives under his breath as the cashier checked that his camera was getting the best angle.

'What are we going to do?' Kagome reatreated slightly.

'_Komattanaaa...'_ InuYasha swore.

'I have no idea what you just said but I wholeheartedly agree.'

'They you friend?'

'Yes. Is he your friend?'

'Nn. Miroku. He die soon, but.'

'No arguments here. What shall we do?'

InuYasha said something, but Kagome didn't catch it.

Miroku wiggled his eyebrows at the two of them suggestively.

'_Kocchi_. This way.' InuYasha said, slowly backing up towards the direction he'd come from.

'Your friend's not that bad, is he?' Kagome found herself following suit. 'I can't really imagine you running away from anything.'

'He,' InuYasha paused, running through his short list of vocabulary, 'Miroku, black.'

'I've never heard it described so accurately.' Kagome nodded sagely, standing a little straighter, squaring her shoulders.

'_Etto_, coffee?' InuYasha asked, turning his back completely on the window full of onlookers, his face reddening.

'I thought you'd never ask.' Kagome responded, smiling ruefully at him.

He took the two steps forward to get the door, and Kagome stepped through it, but Kagome caught his puzzled expression.

'Yes,' she confirmed. 'Uh, _nn, cou-hee, arigato.'_

He laughed at that, and headed back over to the counter, which was suddenly filled with staff once again.

Kagome turned and sat down again with her friends, who were all giving her looks. 'What?'

'You never said you already had a boyfriend!' Yuka ribbed, inching her chair a little closer.

'I don't! We're not going out,' Kagome trailed off of her vehnement response, glancing back over her shoulder.

'But,' Ayumi said, 'Why not? Tell me you at least have his number.'

Kagome shrugged, keeping her eyes firmly away from her friends lest she flush bright flaming scarlet.

Oh wait, too late.

'Come on, Kagome,' Eri wheedled.

'Well, actually, I don't actually know how to use my phone here. It's all in kanji, and I have no idea how to read it.' Kagome dodged, pulling out the brand new, shiny blue, aparently waterproof (but she wasn't game to test it) flip phone.

'What, is that all?' Yuka snatched the phone in question, flicked a few buttons through unintelligable Japanese, and suddenly a _menu_ option was available on her home screen.

'But I can't just walk up and say "hey, I like you, what's your number?" It'd be too weird.'

'No, you say,' Yuka paused to translate, '_Barisuta-san, sukidayo, nanban nani-o?'_

'...which translates to...?' Kagome questioned suspiciously.

'Uh, "hey there, can I have your contact information?" but in a super passive, chilled sort of way.'

Kagome rounded on the other two. 'Is that really what she said?'

'Absolutely.' Eri said sagely.

'Uh-huh.' Ayumi said solomnly.

'Are you sure?' Kagome questioned.

'Just GO!' The three said, pulling her to her feet.

As soon as Kagome had turned, her face flaming, towards the counter, the three girls silently started laughing and ribbing each other.

'But, he looks busy,' Kagome said, turning back, to see her three friends looking as innocent and calm as buddha himself.

'He's making _your_ coffee. Like you asked. Go on!' Yuka prompted, as the guy himself dished up the coffee itself onto the counter, before looking up and accidently making eye contact with her, before looking away suddenly,fighting down a grin.

Those ten steps had to be the longest of Kagome's life up to the collection counter.

And the worst part was that she could _hear_ the egging on looks her friends were giving her behind her.

'Erm,' Kagome could feel herself going redder and redder, as she stared down at the coffee in question. 'Thanks, uhm, _arigato_,'

He shrugged slightly. '_Yasashkatta.'_ He almost started to move back to the coffee machine, before he pulled himself up short.

Kagome floundered, her mind drawing a complete blank, her phone suddenly feeling very heavy in her hand.

'_Ne, InuYasha?'_ His friend, the coworker, the one whose name suddenly floated to Kagome's mind started, draping a hand around InuYasha's shoulders, and taking up a phone that was next to the coffee machine in the other. _Miroku_ said another sentence in rapid-fire Japanese that completely flew over Kagome's head, but InuYasha flushed deeply, and immediately started snatching at the bright red phone.

'Hey, puretty lady,' Miroku said, directing his attention towards Kagome, and waving the phone in her direction, which was also conveniantly just outside of InuYasha's frantic reach. 'Whatsya numba?'

Kagome flushed, the phrase her friends had mentioned before floating to the surface, more or less, her mouth opening but no words coming forth. She flailed her hands slightly, one of which was still holding her own, long forgotten phone.

Miroku flipped the phone open and pressed a few buttons, before holding it up to hers.

_Beeep_.

'What was that?' Kagome started.

Miroku grinned and relinquished the phone, which InuYasha snatched up, and tripping Miroku as he fled, so that he had to stumble greatly so as not to bust his chin on the concrete floor.

'_Gomen_,_ gomen, aitsuwa _baka.' InuYasha glared daggers at the sniggering character.

Kagome flipped open her contacts, to see a new contact with Kanji that she didn't recognise. She flushed greatly, and proffed it to him. 'Is this you?'

He managed to flush a deeper red. _'Nn. Boku.'_ He laughed nervously, before an open container of coca hit him in the back of the head, leaving a slightly-more-than-a-dusting between his ears, and he turned to glower at the thrower. _'Nani?'_

The dark haired girl glared right back with a look that made him flinch, tapping her watch, then looking pointedly at the pile of tickets, and the three customers who had suddenly appeared in lineup behind Kagome.

'Sorry, I should let you go,' Kagome said apologetically.

'_Etto, teksto suru.'_ He muttered, turning a final shade of red as he set the machine humming.

'Text?' Kagome picked out. 'Right. Yeah. I'll text you later.' She nodded, before turning on her heel and fleeing back to her friends.

* * *

**Haha I didn't like that last ending so here we are, definitely altered. This is such a fun story to write! It's also my first that I'm writing, and directly putting up. Usually I'd write a few thousand, then the storie just kind of doesn't go anywhere/I get massive writers block and it stays on my computer, but this time it's chapter-for-chapter, so even I have no idea where this is going! **

**It's also really fun to combine the two AUs (coffee shop AU and "help you're the only one who speaks english here and I'm desperate" AU). If you have any great ideas where you want this to go, let me know in a review!**


	3. Stay As Long As You Like

**I'm just warning you in advance, this chapter's going to be a hard one to read.**

**It's from InuYasha's perspective, but unfortunately none of us (I'm generalizing here, so bear with me) speak as much Japanese as we'd like, so I can't just write his out in the language it's happening in.**

**So of thumb is, if it's in _italics_ and someone is saying it (ie, within quotation marks), it'll be in English, but the rest of the time is Japanese. I tried to keep it really clear, but it was hard to write, and harder to read, so have a guess by the context.**

**Also, _Eksupressuki_ is a three way pun that I'm very proud of, where the Japanese way to read espresso is _eksupresso_, but the way to read express is _eksupress_, and the Japanese word for like/love is _suki_, so it could translate to 'I like coffee', or else 'I like things fast' so it's a double pun on the speed that they make good coffee.**

* * *

_'Look, all I'm saying is I want two macchiatos and a grande latte!'_ The customer pressed her fingertips impatiantly to her temple. _'I want to see your manager!'_

But no matter who the customer, InuYasha's _never_ seen Sango get frazzled.

This is including the time some business-y guy was getting _really_ pervy on her, and Miroku nearly threw the whole coffee machine at him, but Sango never batted an eyelid.

The whole _nearly-broke-his-wrist-handing-back-the-change_ thing though was _purely_ speculation.

It never helps when _E__k__supressuki_ gets the pushy foreigners who don't even get that coffee is just coffee with a dumb accent.

Sango, in the face of this particular customer simply directed her attention towards the laminated menu that was taped open next to the till, and gave her an enquiring look.

The customer huffed exasperatedly, and ran her eyes over the menu, before stabbing a finger at the latte. _'This one! The Grande!'_

InuYasha rolled his eyes as Sango nodded encouragingly, punching it through the till, as the regulars behind the woman facepalmed.

Since there was a soul-crushing break between the orders, InuYasha took the chance to duck under the coffee machine's counter to check his beat-to-shit phone.

_I mean, it's not like I'm expecting anything._ _It was only yesterday that she came in last._ Images of the previous day's events flashed through his mind, including how much _seriously_ embarrassing flailing he'd done in front of her. _Isn't that too soon?_

He checked the charger his phone was using again, just in case it had tangled unceremoniously in the last half hour it'd been since he last checked it, then checked the time again, just in case another hour had slipped by without him noticing.

Ten and a half hour shifts _suck_, no matter who or what you are, but something has to pay the bills, and his phone still read _6:53pm_, so he only had three and a half hours to go in this hell hole with a terrible pun in its name.

He stood again as Sango finally pressed the order slip into his hand, and the english-speaking woman moved over to the pick-up area, eyeing him down and tapping her foot irritably.

He set the shots going and hooked the little milk fridge door open with his foot, seizing a new carton of milk, when the woman spoke up, halting his flow.

_'Hey! Skim milk! Skim! Low fat, you idiot!'_

'Urusainaaa,' he muttered under his breath, swapping the milks over, before smiling blandly at the customer. 'Hai, _miss customer.'_

He'd take polite customers with no Japanese knowledge like Kagome over customers like this _any_ day.

_'Thank you,'_ the customer sighed sarcastically, rolling her eyes, before saying something else meaningless.

He finished the coffees and wiped down the steamer, the woman snatching up all three coffees and precariously juggling them away to her table, as Sango put up some more order slips a little more forcefully than usual, and he touched her shoulder.

'You alright, Sango?' He said, shooting her a concerned look, and she shrugged, guessing at what he said without wasting time.

'Nn, I'm fine. Come on, you can't get off that easy.' She replied, before greeting the next customer.

Miroku was always better at talking to her, he'd even learnt sign language just for her.

InuYasha had picked up a little, but he really only knew how to swear.

Which was normally around a third of his vocabulary anyway, but still.

He glanced a little further down the counter to where Miroku was blitzing a milkshake, that dumb grin on his face that never dropped when he was serving customers.

And it was that moment that his phone decided to go off.

InuYasha nearly dropped the milk jug he was pouring from.

He chuckled nervously. _It's probably just my phone saying it's fully charged._ He thought as he finished the next round of coffees. _Yup, that's gotta be it._ He dumped the takeaway cups on the counter, and called out their types as the respective customers stepped forward to grab them.

Of course, when he crouched to check it some ten minutes later in the next break in customers and whilst Sango was subtly signing/talking to Miroku, _79% Battery - Charging_ still blinked up at him.

Then again, so did _1 New Message_.

Ignoring the pointed glance from Sango, he pressed _Read_.

Of course it was from Kagome, but that didn't calm his slightly panicking nerves. To her credit, she was practising her written Japanese.

_Hey, until what time darling is open?_

He flushed beet red, before composing himself. She'd only used the wrong form of "you".

That's all.

InuYasha wasn't sure he wanted to tell her that.

_10:30~?_ He responded.

He was about to put his phone down again when it _bleep_ed again, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

_Yokkata!_ Read the text.

Don't worry, the meaning was lost on him too.

'Hey,' Came a familiar voice and he accidently slammed the back of his head into the corner of the counter in his rush to stand up and look innocent.

As stars swam before his eyes he clutched at what felt like the fresh crater behind his ears, swearing profusely under his breath.

'I may be deaf but at least I have enough brains _between_ these ears to not flirt at work.' Sango said, looking like a cockroach had scuttled before her in her store.

'I'm not flirting,' He said through clenched teeth as her visage wobbled to hide the laughter.

'Well it must take you a very long time to read the time then,' Miroku said, peering around his girlfriend.

'Shut up, Miroku,' InuYasha grumbled, finally feeling steady enough to attempt standing again.

His vision swam slightly as he stood, and he leant on the counter for support, but Miroku was already shoving an order slip on the coffee machine, and Sango was disappearing out back.

InuYasha was quite proud of the leaf design he poured on the top of the next cuppachino he made, but he knew that his stunning coffee talent was lost on the creatures called customers that wandered brainlessly and aimlessly through the store.

But he found his eyes to be drawn towards the glass door of the store that opened into the now dark night.

_If she's asking what time we close, does that mean she's coming in?_ He pondered, listening to the milk froth. _Damn,_ he glanced down at himself, and regretted not doing something akin to washing his apron. _Well, whatever. It's not like she doesn't know what coffee stores look like._ He looked pointedly at the clock on the wall again.

_7:01_.

_Yeah, she's probably not coming in until later._

_Or maybe not_. He thought as a familiar girl pressed her way hurriedly into the store.

Her gaze was immediately at the counter, and she strode her way over to the coffee machine with which he was fighting.

'_What's up?_' He said, finishing the last coffee, which wasn't in fact a coffee at all but a chai, which rhymed with _lie_ for a reason.

'_Nothing. Just,'_ She started a low explanation which spilled over his head in English, involving hand gestures and worried glances over her shoulder, but from what he could gather, there was something outside that was making her nervous, and she wasn't keen on finding out what it was.

He paused to think about his phrasing, hunting for vocabulary. _'But Kagome, go home?'_ He questioned, but regretted it.

If there was something bad outside, then he didn't really want her to go out to meet it either.

Thankfully though, she shook her head. 'No,' she said, '_Um_, _er,_ key.' She patted herself down.

_She locked herself out?_ 'Etto, _family?'_

'_Not there.'_ She half shrugged, half shook her head.

'What's outside, then?' He questioned, looking pointedly back at the front door, where Mama Tall Double Shot Mocha the regular had just walked through.

She glanced down, looking embarrassed, muttering something to herself.

Almost on instinct he pulled her a coffee, and he set it before her almost without realizing what he was doing. He grinned sheepishly.

'Thanks,' she said, smiling back, and he felt a little dazed as he wandered back over, a little unwillingly, to the machine to make Mama Mocha's regular.

_'What time, family_, return home?' He questioned setting the chocolate shot going.

'_Uhm, _slow. _Late._ _Don't know, when they can._' She struggled.

'_What family do?'_ He looked over at her.

She said something a little to fast and he missed it, but it sounded official, and school related. '_I said_ friend close by, so family no worry.' She glanced back outside at the dark windows again. 'But...' She pulled out her phone and played with it for a minute, which was all the time InuYasha needed to finish Mama Mocha's drink.

He reached past Kagome and set it on the counter in front of the waiting woman, who gave him a knowing look before taking her drink and wandering off to find a table.

Something brightened on Kagome's face but then fell again, when she muttered something like '_Kanji'_ darkly, before presenting the Google Translate to him.

_Man looking for a shade._

'Man looking for a, what?' He questioned, thoroughly confused, before glancing outside again. 'Do you mean shady looking people or something?'

She looked blankly at him, before glancing once again over her shoulder, then letting her eyes fall frustratedly to her drink.

He, on the other hand, inflated slightly. 'You wait here as long as you need. Everything's going to be fine, no one gets into _Eksupresski_ with bad intentions and stays here for long.' _I so wish we had a better name._ 'Don't worry, I can protect you if you need.' He paused. 'And I just remembered, you're not getting a word of this. The only person who can hear and understand me is,' he realized with a sinking sensation in his stomach as he glanced sideways, to see Miroku wiggling his eyebrows at him.

He looked back at Kagome who was looking even more blankly than before at him, but she nodded encouragingly, so she can't have not understood _everything_.

He flushed slightly anyway. 'Uh, _sit, if want. I watch outside._' He said, feeling foolish, but she gave him a relieved, gratefull look that infinitly brightened his remain three hour-shift prospects.

'Oh InuYasha,' Miroku said as Kagome found a table to sit at that was closest to the pickup area. 'Won't you be my knight in shining armour, heralding from the land of _Eksupressuki_, and protect me from these impure orders?' He waved the order slips under his nose, and InuYasha suddenly thought that Miroku would look much better with a flatter nose himself.

Instead, because, y'know, company policy and shit, he snatched the slips from his hand, scanned them, shoved them all on the spike and started brewing.

As eight o'clock rolls around, there's a lull in the usual flow of customers, and InuYasha sets the cleaning stage going, before wandering out onto the floor of the café.

Of course the first table he visits is no surprise, where there's a girl by herself surveying the rest of the café with a mildly curious look.

'Daijyoubu?' He asks, leaning over her table and she starts slightly, before smiling up at him.

'Nn, daijyoubu. _This coffee shop is very popular!'_ She glances around at the lively group sitting by the window, and the general pleasant mood of the store.

'Kocchiwa ichiban cou-hee sekaide tsukuruyo!' He said proudly, before hesitating, looking at her blank look. '_Uh, coffee shop best coffee in world!'_

'Mou, wakarune, _I could've told you that.'_ She grinned back, shooting a look at her empty cup.

'Ano,_ what time family,_' he paused, racing through his english vocab, and drawing a blank.

'Kaeru? _Return?'_ She suggested, before looking back up at the clock behind her. _'Don't know. Maybe-'_, she listed off a number, but it was too fast for him to grab the meaning, so he shrugged, not understanding.

'_Hang on,_ matte,' she said, pulling out her phone, punching in a few numbers, before revealing it to him.

The first thing he noticed was that she'd pulled up her messages to type it out, and that the most recently sent was to himself.

The whole 'darling' thing jumped back to his mind as he read 11:00 on an empty message, and he felt himself flush slightly.

'11?' he confirmed. 'That's so late, what are they even doing?'

_'They're eating a late tea after-'_ there was that official sounding phrase again, like parent-teacher interviews or something?

InuYasha suddenly remembered that it was a Friday, as he watched some idiot stumble past the window a very drunkenly fashion.

Friday was the last day that apparently normal people in normal jobs worked for the week (a few expletives ran through his mind half-heartedly), and he realized why Kagome was nervous about waiting outside her house, it being a shrine and all.

Well, even if it wasn't a shrine, it would still be nerve wracking to be locked out of your own house for four hours at night, so he didn't blame her for dropping by.

'Ne, mou _coffee?'_ He offered, turning back to face her, and she floundered slightly.

'iie, daijyoubu. Ano,' she flushed, drumming her fingers on the table, '_um, er,'_ she muttered a few other words he didn't catch, _'um, bathroom?'_

_Oh_, he thought, glancing back over to the counter and flushing slightly, 'Nn, _yeah_, uh,' _I'm pretty sure Sango will murder me but- _'kocchi. _This way_,' He moved to go behind the counter again, and she jumped to follow him.

He led her to the door of the little office out back and pointed to the bathroom door, where she smiled gratefully before ducking inside, still bright red.

He left her to it, and reappeared in front of the machine, where Miroku had another order slip waiting for him, and Sango disappeared into the back to fill out an order form of some description.

'So what's your girlfriend hanging around for?' Miroku questioned, straightening some of the cakes in the display disinterestedly. 'Is she waiting for you to finish or something?'

'She's not my girlfriend.' InuYasha shot back. 'She accidently locked herself out of her house, and she lives nearby. Anyway, it's none of your business.'

'So she decided to drop by her loving boyfriend's workplace to get free coffee while she waits?'

'Not her boyfriend. And it's a safe place to wait, you can't tell me you'd let Sango wait outside in the dark by herself for four hours while she waits for her brother, even if she can look after herself.'

'True enough,' Miroku eyed another drunkard wandering past, and thought back to the rather tipsy young man a little earlier who had asked for a shot of whisky in his coffee. 'So why doesn't she speak Japanese? She certainly looks it.'

'It's because she moved here recently with her family, despite being of Japanese decent.'

'Eeehhh, you're so lucky to speak English to be able to pick up a cute girl like that.' Miroku sighed.

'Now I'm really gonna hurt you,' InuYasha commented menacingly, before changing tactic. 'Don't let Sango catch you saying stuff like that, she'll have your head on one of the cake display tins.'

'She already has my head on a cake display tin.' Miroku smiled dumbly. 'And it's amazing what you can get away with with a deaf girlfriend.'

'Not if I tell her,' InuYasha threatened.

'You wouldn't tattle on me!' Miroku's eyes went wide in a faux-horrified expression.

InuYasha shrugged innocently, but his ears flicked as a door opened out back, and there was a surprised little squeak as Kagome discovered she wasn't alone.

She started to apologise in English, then switched to a hurried 'gomenasai', then fell silent as InuYasha heard the office chair creak as it turned, where Sango must've looked at her.

'Don't worry about it,' came Sango's voice, but he knew Kagome wouldn't understand, but she would probably get the dismissive, half-signed gesture that Sango was undoubtedly accompanying with.

'_uh_, shitsureishimasu?' Kagome excused herself tentatively, before ducking out of the room, and almost running into the two guys behind the till.

'_hey, new worka,'_ Miroku smiled, _'you wanna raise-?'_

Screw company policy, Miroku _deserved_ the portafilter to the back of the head.

Kagome gave him a glare to rival Sango, before edging past InuYasha and heading out to the customer side of the counter.

_'What a creep!_' Kagome huffed, looking to InuYasha for confirmation. He didn't get the last word, but carefully filed it away for future use, and he gave her the universal, _well, yeah_ nod.

'My apologies, miss customer,' Miroku said woefully, 'but in the face of such beauty-' he ducked to avoid the box of cocoa InuYasha had pitched at him.

Surprisingly the box didn't have to add another dent to its well-aimed collection, as Sango had appeared just in time to snag it out of the air. 'What are you idiots up to now?'

Miroku turned to face her, his hands moving as he spoke almost without conscious thought. 'Nothing at all, my dearest heart, I was just practicing my English with InuYasha's new girlfriend.'

Sango snorted, overriding InuYasha's spluttering. 'You know as well as I that the only English you know is terrible pickup lines.' She said sternly, her hands moving in response.

'Which is all the more reason to-'

Sango cut him off with a glare which sent him scampering, before turning on InuYasha who balked. 'Hey, how do you say "hello, my name is" in English?'

'Uh, _hello, my name is,_ then your name.' InuYasha prompted, and Sango watched his mouth carefully and with trained practice.

She turned to Kagome, who was watching the exchange with amusement.

'_Herro, mai naim iz _Sango.' She imitated.

Kagome smiled back, and ducked her head slightly. _'Hello, my name is _Kagome.' She paused for a second, before 'yoroshiku onegaishimasu. _It's nice to meet you, Sango.'_

'Crap, Japanese is hard enough.' Sango sighed. 'Yoroshikune.' She replied to Kagome, before clapping InuYasha on the shoulder. 'I'll leave the sweet wordplays to you, brainiac.'

'Oi!' InuYasha complained as she went to serve a customer. 'Is that the way you treat a genius like me?'

Unfortunately InuYasha didn't get any peace for the rest of the evening either, but that seemed to be the case these days anyway.

* * *

**Yup, sorry about that, but it was certainly fun to write! Once you get into the swing of it it gets easier.**

**I'll update soon, and make it up to you then! ;)**


	4. Wait with me

_10:31pm._

'Oh sweet baby Kami let's get the shit out of here.'

'Language, InuYasha.'

'Alright then; _Jesus H Christ let's go leave.'_

'Don't be a smartass, InuYasha.'

'Language, Miroku.'

Miroku pulled a long-suffering face at him, before sticking his head into the cake display to wipe down the corners.

InuYasha grinned back, sealing the skim milk carton shut tightly and storing it away in the milk fridge, the coffee machine already on its cleaning settings.

Sango was safely sweeping the floor out in the customer area, and missed all of the exchange, she was humming to herself tunelessly.

The coffee machine burbled, and InuYasha released the pressure on the steamer with a flourish, and the machine hissed in relief, letting off a large puff of steam from both nozzles.

He dumped the smaller pieces of the machine into the little sink, set the water running, and eyed Miroku off as he ducked around the counter to bring in the outside chairs.

Kagome took a final look at the empty store before approaching the counter, where InuYasha was rinsing the coffee machine parts as quickly as possible, suddenly wishing there was a cooler looking part to packing up for the night.

She said a long phrase in English that he wasn't _entirely_ sure on, but there was a '_thank you'_ in there and she said it with a lot of gratitude, so he gathered it was a very greatful appreciation, and he shrugged easily.

'_Not problem.'_ He said, finishing up with the last portafilter.

'Now darling go home?' She questioned, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jeans.

'Nah, I'll wait,' he replied, and she brightened visibly. 'What, you thought you'd have to wait by yourself?' He said incredulously.

Luckily the tone held enough meaning for her than the words, and she reddened slightly. 'No, _but_,'

He walked around to the other side of the counter, switching off the display lights as he went with practised ease, and leant against the counter casually. 'Haven't got anything better to do,'

'You do now!' Miroku called from the front area. 'Some idiot's hidden their mugs behind the pot plant, and someone's' he emphasised strongly, 'gotta wash 'em!'

InuYasha wanted to facepalm. Preferably Miroku. Hard. With a fist. 'Fine,' he said instead, heading over to next to the cold drinks fridge where the crappy fake mini-palm tree thing sat, and pulled out the goddamn mugs behind it.

_'Can I help?'_ Came a voice behind him, and he shrugged.

'If you really want to,' he handed her a milkshake glass and a latte glass, before hauling out the other three mugs and respective saucers and stacking them all in one hand.

'I'll bet it was that rude woman,' he said, 'I thought her table was suspiciously clear when she and her damn extra friends with their damn extra order left.'

Kagome shrugged, the meaning lost, but she continued anyway. _'That, or that annoying woman from before and her friends.'_

'_Not wrong.'_ He replied, moving behind the register and dumping everything into the little dishwasher, before taking her dishes and dumping them unceremoniously in there too.

'You ready to go, InuYasha?' Sango called, jangling her keys noisily from the door.

He flicked his ears irritably against the god awful noise. 'I'm coming, I'm coming, the slave of the store is now leaving for the night,'

Miroku was already waiting outside when they got there, and Sango pulled the door closed as they left.

While Sango was fiddling with the keys Miroku reached over and touched her shoulder so smoothly she didn't even look up at the unexpected contact. 'Hands to yourself,' She said instead, pulling the keys from the door, and giving said door a final rattle to double-check their security. 'Alright,' She turned to face them. 'That's that. See you tomorrow, InuYasha.' She checked her watch, and swatted half-heartedly at the mysterious hand that was snaking its way around her waist.

'See you tomorrow, you guys.' InuYasha replied, shoving his hands in his pockets.

'_Bai bai,_' Miroku waved at Kagome, and she pulled a face like she wanted to roll her eyes, but Sango replied for her by standing quite carefully on his foot.

'Oyasuminasai, _good night,'_ she smiled pointedly in Sango's direction, before the couple wandered off.

InuYasha suddenly realized he hadn't considered this part of the evening.

'Sa,' he said, '_Go let's.'_

She smiled shyly back. 'Nn.'

They started strolling down the mostly empty street, and InuYasha found himself searching for a topic of conversation that he would possibly understand.

_'Um, so, why do you know some English?'_ She asked haltingly, letting her hands, after a moment of hesitation, fall limply to her sides.

'Er,' he shrugged, '_lots_ gaijin. _I learn some.'_

'_Oh_.' She said, somewhat lamely.

After a long moment, he pulled out the basic foreigner question in the hopes of starting her talking. '_You like_ Nihon?'

'Nihon_ is Japan, right? Yes, I like Japan. Japanese people are very nice.'_

He pulled his hands out of his pockets and let them hang as well, except one accidentally brushed against one of hers and he felt something like an electric shock.

It wasn't long before they reached that weird-ass, abstract-looking statue on the corner, and he could almost see the steps of her shrine from there.

'You know,_ this is,_ statue_, for _kami?' He offered, looking up at that blasted statue.

_'A statue of _kami? _What's a _kami?' Kagome questioned, focusing on the new word, and he paused walking to stare at it.

'Kami is_, God, er, but, can be,'_ he used his hands to indicate something smaller. '_and.'_

_'A spirit?'_ She also did the smaller hand gestures, thankfully, frowning slightly.

'Nn. _Spirito. That,'_ he nodded up at the statue, _'make _hardworking Kami _happy.'_

'_Right. Which Kami?'_

'Generally,' he said hastily, not really knowing himself. '_All. Most.'_

They started walking again, and he mentally heaved a sigh of relief.

Then again, if he could just maybe slip his hand into hers it would be a great night indeed, but it seemed easier to, well, do anything at all than to reach sideways those few precious inches.

'_So_, InuYasha, _why do you work at a coffee shop?'_

He struggled to find the words for a second. _'Student. Money.'_

_'What do you study?'_ She questioned curiously.

'Uh, I'm studying my masters as a mechanical engineer. _um, don't know?'_ He ended, shrugging. _'Is hard to say.'_

'_Sounds hard.'_ She said ruefully.

She stopped then to cross the road just before her shrine, before pausing, and looking carefully both way for cars, before throwing a knowing look in his direction. _'Cars are dangerous. I almost forgot.' _She smiled, and their hands brushed again as she shuffled backwards while a slow-moving car passed harmlessly in front of her.

It was the chance he needed to take it carefully, and hope she didn't shake it off.

She did notice, however, and flushed as she started walking across the road.

'_Good. Not crazy.' _ He grinned. _'Smart.'_

She gave him a dry look. _'You saying I'm dumb?'_

'_No!'_ He shot back. _'Only little _baka.'

Her look got dryer. '_I'm going to look up what that means, just so you know.'_

He chuckled, as she started on the steps to the shrine, but he hovered back uncertainly.

_'Come on,' _she invited, pulling him up by the hand, _'wait at the top with me.'_

_'If want,'_ he said, picking his way up the flight of steps until he was level with her, and they wandered up to the top step together. 'What's your shrine for, anyway? Higurashiji _is what?'_

'_Oh, uh,_' she flushed red. _'Um, it's, for,'_ she said a word he didn't understand, but the way she glanced down at their intertwined fingers helped him along. _Relationship Shrine._

He laughed nervously. '_Funny.'_ He sat on the upper step, stretching his legs down the steps again.

Ten and a half hours of just standing in more or less one place? He'd rather die, but death doesn't pay bills.

She sat down next to him, and he felt himself flush at the contact of their arms side-by-side.

'Ne, _you learn some _nihongo_ fast.'_ He said, looking at her.

_'And your English is good for someone who never learnt,'_ she replied, subtly sliding a little closer in the brisk night.

'I practise.' He grinned. '_Lots bad _gaijin customers_. No say _nihongo.'

She laughed at that, a laugh that chased the chill away as easily as breathing. '_Like what?'_ She prompted.

He had the perfect one, but telling would be the hard part. Counting the numbers off of his free fingers, he started, _'one-two-three-four-five week past maybe,'_ he paused for phrasing, _'man with_' he mimed the nose of the guy he was describing, like a beak on an eagle, or maybe a toucan, _'store in come. He very,'_ he mimed being very overweight, bolstered along by the stitches Kagome was in, _'he say'_ he drew himself up slightly, and pushed his hair through his fingers so it sat tightly packed against his head, imitating the balding fellow, _'you_ nihonjin, _yes? You,_' he paused to find the word, but surprisingly found it, since it stuck out in his mind _'fix my,'_ now this word he couldn't find, but Kagome seemed to understand through his miming of opening and closing the lid of the laptop, which was an effort considering how she was laughing, _'you know how, yes?'_ He shifted slightly, dropping the persona by shifting slightly, and giving the imaginary customer a concerned, yet _what-the-shit-is-this-guy-on_ sort of look. _'I say, Sir, this coffee shop. He say, but you _nihonjin._'_ He flipped between the two characters of the staff and this customer with practiced ease, considering this wasn't the first time he'd told this story.

However, it had been in not so fewer words last time, and Miroku was probably only chuckling whilst it was happening. _'Sango say, she know,' _he mimed the laptop and Kagome supplied the word this time, _'yeah, laptop, but he say, you girl! He me look, that one boy! You know laptop? You fix? I,'_ he mimed the look again, with a fraction more _look-what-crawled-out-of-the-sewers-and-is-acting-so-self-important_._ 'Sir. We coffee. _Ekspressuki_ coffee. No laptop. No help. Best we coffee in laptop?'_ He flipped over the customer's persona, who mimed snapping the laptop decisively, and retreating with it slightly. _'That I think. Coffee?'_ He mimed offering earnestly. _'No? Okay, you nice day. Man walk very fast...'_ He commented, laughing as well. _'No see from then on.'_ He grinned evilly.

_'Did you get in trouble?'_ Kagome asked, still chuckling.

_'You lie? Sango want'_ he mimed snatching the machine away from the man and beating him over the head with it.

Kagome laughed again at that. _'You get on with them very well,'_ she commented.

'Yeah, well, _we work much time.'_ He shrugged. _'Miroku, Sango _sometimes, when they're not being a complete pain in the ass, _friend.'_

She smiled, and he suddenly noticed that in the process of story telling, he'd inched closer and closer, so all he'd have to do is-

He flushed red, but managed through sheer willpower not to jump to his feet and move away.

_'Hey, InuYasha, yesterday, my friends, tried to, get me to say, something, to you, and I want to know what it __ means.'_ Purely the only reason he got the whole sentence was because she said it so haltingly, but it was a challenge as he was distracted by the colour flooding her cheeks.

'Yeah?'

'_Um, it was,_ _er, don't laugh, _I really like you, what's your number?'

He thought he was going to fall off his perch, he wasn't sure he could take this. But one half said to double check to make sure, the other half said to get his money's worth out of this opportunity. So he opted to respond with, _'Again?'_

She flushed a little more, and said quickly, 'I really like you, what's your number?'

Yup, he was sure he was going to just _die_.

Especially since he wasn't sure on the translation.

But he _was_ pretty sure he just wanted her to keep repeating it.

_'Er, means, _etto, suki, suki,' he repeated for inspiration of translation, then realised what he was saying and shut up, before remembering something Miroku said, _'Like! Er, means, I like you, telephone number?'_

She seemed to turn brick red to the roots of her hair. _'No way! They said, but,'_ she sighed in exasperation, before peeking back at him. _'Sorry,'_

'Honto?' He questioned after a moment, listening to his heavy heartbeat in his ears. _'True?'_

'Ah, _um, well, _a little?' She ventured, pulling out _sukoshi_ from her newly found vocabulary.

'Well, maybe, sukoshimo. _Little too._ He muttered, pretending not to notice the way she flushed, but smiled at him.

She smiled sheepishly, before seeming to realise just how close they were.

And almost, trying to close those few inches of space.

'Nee-san!' Came a voice from the base of the stairs and they jumped apart as if an electric current had run through them. 'Tadainaaa!'

'Souta!' Kagome smiled as a boy raced up the steps to meet her.

_'Sorry we're so late!'_ He didn't even sound that sorry at all, though, to be honest. _'Who's this guy?'_ The boy turned his attention to InuYasha, who scrambled to cover the disappointed scowl that was on his face.

_'Uh, this is InuYasha.'_

The boy gave him a wary look._ 'Is he your-'_ word InuYasha missed, probably due ot the fact that he half hissed it in her direction, but she flushed red.

_'No! Well, uh,'_ she shifted uncomfortably, before changing the subject by welcoming the woman and the old man now taking to the stairs at a much slower pace. 'Mama!' Kagome said, ducking around Souta and his oblivious looks. 'Okaeri! _Welcome home!'_

'Sorry we're so late, Kagome, we just couldn't seem to get away.' Her mother smiled, surprisingly it was in Japanese.

'Not that she'd understand you anyway,' The old man said, pausing in his efforts on the stairs to peer upwards. 'Who's the runt?'

Kagome caught the intention of the old man, and supplied; 'InuYasha. _He's, well, he works around the corner at_ Ekspressuki.'

The old man huffed, finally reaching the top step. 'I hope you're not planning on pursuing my granddaughter?' He addressed the hanyou.

InuYasha stuffed his hands in his pockets, taking the most casual stance he could manage. 'So what, gramps?'

The mother laughed at that, and the grandfather threw his nose in the air. 'Hmph.'

_'Is someone gonna let me into this?'_ Kagome huffed, looking between the three people sulkily.

_'Nothing, nothing,'_ her mother said. _'Your friend is interesting.'_

'Come on,' the grandfather prompted, ambling towards the house, 'I want to get inside and warm up. These old bones aren't what they used to be!'

'Hai, hai, jii-san,' Souta said, taking him by the hand.

InuYasha hung back awkwardly, unsure about his remaining presence, but he caught the glance of Kagome, and decided to put off his departure.

'Kagome,' Her mother started, and continued with a questioning sounding phrase that caused her daughter to flush slightly, glancing back at him, before responding in the negative.

'Are you sure?' Her mother confirmed, in Japanese this time, before addressing him. 'You're more than welcome to come in for some tea if you like.'

_Ah._ 'Er, don't worry about it. I have to start early tomorrow. My university needs me, all that.'

'He's a UNIVERSITY student?' Her grandfather starts. 'What are you studying, boy? Your prospects? Would you be able to support my grandd-'

'Father,' the woman said sternly, effectivly shutting the old man up, before turning back to her conversation in English with her daughter.

'Ne, ne, InuYasha-nii-san?' Came a tug from his sleeve and he jumped slightly, before looking down at the boy. '_How come _your hair is white? Oh! And ears are weird.'

He could feel them twitching irritably. 'I'm hanyou. Don't you get them where you're from?'

'No. _You're the first real one I've seen.'_

He blinked at him for a second. 'Hey, why is your Japanese better than your sister's? I thought you didn't know any until recently.'

'Oh that's easy,' the boy grinned up at him. 'I love to watch _Beyblades_ and stuff in Japanese _with subs_ so it's easy to learn.'

They'd reached the house then, and the family had shuffled their way inside taking a reluctant boy with them, and left Kagome and the guest awkwardly standing outside.

_'So, uh, sorry about my family. they're a bit,'_ She left the sentence hanging, but he shrugged.

'Keh. _Not problem-'_

She'd bounced onto her tiptoes and thrown her arms around his shoulders. 'Arigato. _So much. I was really worried about being by myself,'_ she said quietly.

'Daijyoubu. _It's fine._' He replied, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her narrow ribcage. '_Anytime is fine.'_ Her hair smelt faintly like strawberries, but her shirt smelt like she'd been wearing it all day and her scent was just _heaven._

She pulled back slightly, and smiled at him shyly. 'Um, sorry,'

He wasn't sure he could string together enough words to respond to her in Japanese, let alone in English, so he went for a little more universal option.

Her lips tasted better than she smelt, and he just couldn't find it in himself to pull away, and after a moment of surprise, her fingers tangled themselves into his now loosely flowing hair.

They were slow in their movements, a parted lip against his, a tracing fingertip against her cheek, as if each moment was precious and not to be wasted, and the slow, captivating memorization of each other began.

And just as slowly, she lowered herself back down to her feet, drawing back and smiling.

He grinned sheepishly back, his arms still around her waist and not quite willing to relinquish her yet.

'Well,' she said, looking slightly dazed, 'Oyasuminasai, _goodnight,'_

He had to pause for a second to organize his vocal muscles for an answer. '_G'night,'_

Yet it was several more minutes before her hand fell on her doorhandle and his foot fell to the first step again.

He could feel her eyes on him as he shoved his hands as far into his pockets as they would go and started his plod home.

And he just couldn't seem to stop grinning.

* * *

**Hey guys! The second half to the last chapter :) It took me ages to get that last scene right, I just couldn't get the wording/etc etc etc right, so I hope you like it!**

**PS I know I'm going insane but there's a few editing mistakes in there but I JUST CAN'T FIND THEM I'VE READ THE CHAPTER TOO MANY TIMES SO if you find them leave a review + I'll fix or else I'll go over it again in a few days when I'm a little less high on caffeine...**


	5. Early Risers

_Bzzt._

Kagome rolled over blearily, feeling around for her phone whilst attempting to remember how to open her eyes.

Her fingers encountered the raised edge of her phone as her room faded into view, with the early-morning light streaming in through her window.

_What time is it?_ She strung together halfheartedly, thumbing her phone, whilst the screen blinded her slightly.

_6:04am_.

_Who the hell's texting me at six in the morning?_ Either her phone or her fingers refused to cooperate, but either way, it took a slightly embarrasing amount of fiddling to open the new message.

_Good morning! Today what you doing?_

She had to take a second to recognise the kanji next to _Sender_, and her brain seemed to switch on a little faster.

Well, if the terrible grammar hadn't been a dead giveaway anyway.

_Today's friday, right?_ She glanced at the calander hanging from her wall. _Friday 12th. Week Three after you moved here. One week since you last texted this boy because you locked yourself out of this house. Two days since you last stopped in for a coffee. Right, I'm orientated now._

_Nothing, I think. I have the day off._ She responded.

Kagome scrubbed at her eyes half-heartedly, and pulled the warm covers around her a little more snugly.

She stared at her phone curiously.

_Why on earth is he texting me this early?_

Nonetheless, she was startled when her phone buzzed again, even though it was right in her hands already. She swiped it open.

_Want to meet up?_

She stared at it for a long second, and during this, another message appeared.

_ww_

_"Ww"? What?_ Kagome stared at the two messages for another long second.

_what were you thinking of doing?_ She sent back.

She stopped and thought about it for a second, before sending _what do you want to do?_ as well. Working with language barriers between one and one's boyfriend is always difficult.

Hold on a second, is that the right word? Boyfriend? It can't be, that's far too embarrasing. But 'friend' doesn't quite cut it either. And to be fair, she'd be kind of hurt if he only said 'friend', or, hang on, the word is 'tomodachi' isn't it, but anyway-

_Surprise_

Now why does that sound so ominous? Kagome pondered.

_When?_ She sent.

There was barely a split second pause, before a loading wheel appeared in his response message, and nothing else.

Until a picture appeared.

It was a selfie, of all things, and that ominous feeling was not dismissed by the quite frankly evil expression he was pulling.

Kagome couldn't help but just look at it for a moment, before she frowned.

_Hang on, aren't those steps behind him familiar? And that wall? And-oh god, he's out the front of my house._

She hauled herself to her feet, and threw open the curtains to her window.

Before remembering that her window faced in completely the wrong direction to see the entranceway to the house. But, the thought counted.

She hauled on something vaguely presentable-looking, and fought with some shoes for a long minute, before her phone rattled on her bedside table again.

She attempted to seize it, almost dropped it in an attempt to grip it, and managed to take hold by the corner before it clattered to the ground.

Another selfie, this one of him lounging on the steps, looking playfully bored, with a take-away bag from _Ekspressuki_ and two paper cups next to him.

Carefully, she saved it as her wallpaper, before running her fingers through her hair a few times and racing out the door.

_'Ohaiyo, sukoshi hayai ne?'_ InuYasha grinned at her as Kagome (as quietly as she could) slammed open her front door.

'Not Japanese at six in the morning. It's too early.' She grumbled, taking one of the coffee cups from his proffered hand, and the take-out bag from the other. 'Where to?'

'Not early. Sun in sky.' He grinned back at her as they started walking. 'Surpurisu.'

She shrugged, peering into the bag, and seeing some of the fruit danishes she had been staring at longingly the other day. Seizing the strawberry and apple one, and after a moment of juggling, she offered the bag back to him, which he took, taking a swig from his own coffee.

'Are you working today?' She questioned curiously, through a mouthful of pastry, after a moment.

He paused to remember the word. It was curious, she was starting to recognise that half-searching expression where his eyes went to look for something that they could not see before he would either produce it or work around it. 'Evening. Tomorrow morning also.' He also responded through a mouthful of pastry, blueberry this time. 'But today is, surpuraisu.'

'Ah. A surprise.' She followed as they walked past an _Ekspessuki_ that had opened some half-hour beforehand, and down the road that would lead them to the train station. 'Is it far?'

'No, not far.' That look again, while he searched. '_Etto,_ I run every day, but far for,' he gestured to her general person, and she frowned.

'What, because I'm a girl?' She shot a little crossly.

'No!' He backpeddled. 'Because, _ano,_ _ningen, ningen, eigo, ningen,_' he traced round, human ears on either side of his head where they would naturally go were he human encouragingly.

'Uh, a monkey?' Kagome prompted, then frowned some more. 'You callin' me a monkey?'

He whacked his own forehead, before pulling out his phone, fiddling with it for a few minutes, and then presenting it to her.

'Oh, human you mean? Right. Hey, hang on,' she grouched, 'I'm not that weak,'

His eyes looked pointedly from one rooftop above them to another, before he grinned.

'Oh,' she realized. 'Right. Train is good. Train is nice. Train is safe.'

He rolled his eyes dramatically, and the banter continued up until the train station itself, and the train ride past Kagome's normal stops, and into the world of the Japanese unknown.

'You sure you know where you're going?' She questioned as she saw factories and parking lots go past, into a semi-industrial area.

'Yup. Now close.' He got that evil look again, and Kagome returned her gaze to the window.

It wasn't long though until they pulled up at an unobtrusive-looking train station, and InuYasha motioned for them to disembark, which Kagome did so with some slight caution.

'Where are we?' She questioned, as they came up the stairs to, well, wherever they were, which was a quiet looking roundabout.

He lead her down one of the roads, and across to a scattering of buildings that was separated from the road by a low wall and a lawn with a medium-sized tree in the centre.

There was characters carved into the wall, but Kagome could make heads nor tails of them, so she questioned. 'Where is this?'

'This is, school. University.' He corrected himself. 'Come, I show.'

He lead the way through one building, and another, past a courtyard, and into a final building that had an outdoor pitch/track of some description with green grass and another row of trees along one side.

This building was slightly shabbier than the others, and was a stout brick, almost office looking building and inside was no better.

The inside was well lit, and obviously well looked after, but it was clear why this building was at the back of the campus.

After a short ride in the elevator, and a short walk down a long corridor, one that seemed to defy the dimensions of the building, they pulled up at a regular looking door with two names on it.

Kagome knew they were names because she recognised one set of the characters, and for that she was very proud.

InuYasha opened the door without hesitation, and the movement from inside formed itself into a guy sitting at his desk, hunched and half slurping his way through a cup of instant noodles, who had jumped and glared at InuYasha soundly.

_'Ossu,'_ InuYasha dismissed, already moving over to the cluttered-looking desk on the other side of the room and rifling through the papers.

_'Saikin do'_, the guy managed around his mouthful of noodles, before looking around at the newcomer, who was loitering awkwardly in the doorway. He bit off the clump of noodles he was in the process of cramming into his mouth, swallowed hugely, and stood, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand swiftly.

_'Ohaiyo, Kikyou-san,'_ the guy started, before delving into Japanese unkown in Kagome's opinion, before InuYasha interjected.

_'Kikyou jyanai yo,'_ the hanyou cut off without looking up, he was obviously searching for something. _'Kagome yo.'_

_'Eeh? Onaji mieru ne!'_ The guy looked her up and down, while she was opting to look around the square-ish room, with the two desks against opposing walls and adjacent to the window.

Above InuYasha's desk hung an old fashioned looking sword carefully set on an ornamental backing, and very little else.

_'Tashikani kanojyo jyanai,'_ the guy commented as InuYasha somehow managed to extract a pike from the innocent-looking paper stack, and another sword a minute later. _'Okyakusan?'_ He questioned, looking at her, before smiling slightly, and started again in Japanese with almost exactly the same sort of tone Miroku had been using the previous week.

Kagome found herself leaning backwards slightly as he approached her.

And that was the moment that InuYasha seemed to decide to actually listen to whatever the guy was spouting, because he froze, glared over his shoulder at the guy, and strode over to land a hand decisively on Kagome's opposing shoulder, almost nudging her back into him.

_'Konohitowa Kagome. Orenokanojyo, yone?'_ He flushed slightly, but held firm, as a disappointed look crossed the guys face, before a disbelieving one.

InuYasha however turned his attention to Kagome. 'This baka is Kouga. He idiot. Don't listen.' He motioned towards the door. 'Come, we go.'

He frogmarched her from the room, muttering what could only have been either Japanese insults or expletives under his breath, before heading for the elevator, where a thought seemed to occur to him. 'Ah, etto, This I study.' he hefted the sword, which had an expressly ornamental looking handle, and a pike with a humongous jewel in the centre, which seemed to emit a very dull light.

'You study, weapons?' She questioned, and he nodded, grinning smugly.

'Weapons,' he sounded out, 'do, I study what.'

She looked him up and down. 'You examine their abilities and capabilities.' She summarized.

He stared blankly.

'They do, you study.' She clarified.

'Ah, yeah,' he nodded, grinning again. 'These,' he paused while the elevator doors opened and stepped inside, then fished around in his pocket for his phone, before extracting it, and revealing with a flourish the only just previously used "human" translation. 'Not this. Hyuuman,' he read out. 'Not hyuuman.' He gestured towards his triangular ears again._ 'Youkai.'_

'Demon, I got it.' She waved, smiling despite herself. _'Youkai._ Got it. _Wakkata._'

He nodded decisively, as the elevator doors opened again and they walked down the revealed corridor, and into the streaming sunlight of just before seven in the morning.

'_Kore motte,'_ he said, handing her the pike as they approached the field.

On closer inspection the field looked like a football field, with the giant tuning fork that serves as goal posts at the end, with white marking lines along the whole pitch.

The pitch was lined with tall trees instead of stands, and curiously, there was only one set of goals at the very end of the pitch, on the opposing side of the pitch to them.

'_Miite_,' InuYasha grinned at her and unsheathed the blade dramatically.

'What's going to happen?' Kagome questioned, before he leapt and span like a dancer, before slicing through the air at a horizontal angle, sending an arc of something that looked like a distortion whistling through the air. It rustled through the trees on either side like a sudden, strong wind, until it hit the goals clear the other end of the pitch, where Kagome could just hear them singing back a perfect note.

'What _is_ that?'

'_Utanoha.'_ He grinned back at her. _'Namae wa, utanoha.'_

'_Utanoha.'_ She repeated. 'Can you do it again? _Sugoi,'_ She smiled, as he proffered the blade in one hand and the sheath in the other for her to see.

_'Ne? Sugokatta! Demo, boku mo sugoi,'_ He took another step back and repeated the procedure, aiming slightly higher on the prongs so as to produce a different note.

Kagome laughed, before offering up the pike. 'This one? _Koreno?'_

He sheathed the blade with practiced skill, and rested it on the grass carefully, his eyes on the jewel of the pike.

Kagome followed his gaze, to see it pulsing carefully, a soft, white-blue emanating from the stone. 'What's the matter?' She asked him.

'Nothing,' he said quickly, covering his stare by offering his hands for the pike. 'Please.'

'Is something wrong? _Daijyoubu?_' She questioned, carefully handing over the blade.

He shook his head. _'Daijyoubu.'_ He accepted the weapon, and the stone bled from blue to an even red, the colour of a polished ruby.

'The colour!' Kagome said suddenly, and he looked at her confusedly. 'Um, er, _iro_?' She offered, and he nodded seriously.

_'Daijyoubu yo.'_ He nodded seriously. '_Okashikunai. _Weird no.'

Kagome shook her head, before shrugging. 'Well, you're the expert,' she said, as he took a few steps back, proffering the weapon high.

_'Miru,'_ he said, turning and taking around ten measured paces to his left, counting them out in English. 'One, two, three, four, five,' he hesitated, 'six,' he paused again, his foot halting in midair. 'Seven!' He said suddenly, stepping forward, before throwing a sheepish look over his shoulder.

'Eight!' She called back, smiling encouragingly.

'Eight,' he repeated back, his face reddening. 'Nine, ten!'

He landed, and planted his feet solidly in the green, slowly rotating the pike around him.

It gathered speed, until it too was whistling through the air.

Then with a sudden motion he brought the tip of the blade into the dirt and buried it all the way up to the hilt. He looked over at her with a smug grin.

_'Mieru ka?'_ He said loudly. 'You see?'

'I'm watching,' she said back, rocking on her feet expectantly.

Like he was pulling on a lever he pulled the staff backwards, and the ground shrieked beneath their feet in protest, before cracking open like the top of a baked cake, almost three quarters the length of the pitch.

The ground shook the feet out from under Kagome and she toppled over, landing solidly on her backside.

But the shaking was over as soon as it begun. And the pitch was in ruins.

_'Daijyoubu?'_ He moved over to her, helping her to her feet, grinning like a kid proud of his mudpie.

_'Daijyoubu_,' she replied, brushing herself off, before staring at the deep gouge in the earth, the smell of fresh soil reaching her noise.

Suddenly there was a faint roaring on the wind, and InuYasha's grin turned sheepish again, his attention turning to his building behind them.

_'Kouga-chan!'_ He called back. _'Daijyoubuka?'_

The roaring seemed to raise in pitch, and Kagome was certainly glad she couldn't understand.

InuYasha flung something back that sounded very witty and insulting, his grin not dropping.

He looked sideways at her impressedly, before his face falling slightly, as he clearly understood that she did not understand at all.

* * *

**ah my goddess this took me waaayyyyy toooo long. I'll probably rework it later, and there's more I want to add, but this is the semi-finished chapter for you.**

**Ps, no Ekspressuki this time! It was fun writing about a new place this time :)**

**Also, in case anyone was wondering, "ww" is the Japanese way to say "haha", so it's like IY's trying to cover his embarrassment with a "haha".**


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